I’ve been offered pot lots of times, I have a sister that when through a stoner phase. I was never tempted, its just not my thing. Plus I spend some time in the law enforcement community where pot use is, shall we say frowned upon.
You will be hard pressed to find some one more anti-drug than me but I’ve recently done a one 180 on the subject. I think it’s time to legalize it with the same restrictions as booze. No sells to minors, major penalties for driving stoned. It might raise SOME tax money. But even if they tax the crap out of it, it won’t raise much. Everyone will grow their own. They’ll buy one tax stamp and use that stamp for years.
The real savings will be freeing up police man power spent on pot busts, the unclogging of the courts and to a lesser extent, the jails. It may also help the gang problem in the inner cities by defunding the gang bangers to some extent.
Pot is not without health risks.
About 6% to 8% of users become dependent on pot. That would be your stoned slacker crowd. Pot smokers have a higher incidence of bronchitis Pot smoking increases the chance of heart attacks. Studies suggest heavy pot use have an increased chance chromosome damage. Smoking pot during pregnancy increases the rate of underweight babies.
Pot is not without physical risk but I’m not sure it’s as bad as or any worse than too much booze.
The bigger issue for me is whether the federal government has the power to ban it. Where in the Constitution does it say they have the right to ban anything? To me that’s one of those powers left to the state thingies.
True enough, but just cause they use the Interstate Commerce clause doesn't make it legal. Just means they have a bigger weapon to force compliance than we have to resist it.
Legalizing pot would do both cut spending and increase revenue.
Cut spending: need I say war on drugs(that war needs to be focused on the real damaging problems) dare, and the judicial system. bla bla bla..
Increase spending: Tax the sale of it, sell the right to grow it for personal use and sell the right to grow it for sale, and all the tax in between.
Most of the kids now a days arent really interested in pot the way we, ( I mean me and my peers... I guess ) were . Lots of kids are overdosing and getting hooked on pain pills and the other stuff that can and does kill them.
Legalize it! I maintain the technology in a courthouse. The majority of the inmates I see every morning at their first appearance is for pot. Jails across the U.S. wouldn't have as many inmates. I've smoked before and would smoke again if offered. I don't buy it because I'm not taking the risk of being arrested over a dime sack.
For the people who state all the negative affects, sure your right. But, how about all these commercials you see about drugs for blood pressure, E.D., whatever. They help with your problem but give you blood clots, liver failure, dizziness, etc.
I toke from the bowl makes my knees, robo elbow and titanium leg feel a hell of a lot better than a fist full of Advil.
Gregtonn, If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.
Ft., You can get a pot hangover, but you have to smoke an awful lot, and it is easily cured with a 'morning ripper', which doesn't really get you stoned. A bowl first thing in the morning is like a cup of coffee to the experienced pot smoker. Kind of wakes you up, and makes the first morning hour a little rosier, but not unmanageable.
It's a complex drug, different to each user, each strain, each situation, every time of day, every point in one's life, etc. I never even liked it until I was near 40. When I was a high school kid to young adult, I was insecure with myself and the world around me, if I got stoned--instant paranoia and totally un-enjoyable. Now I just don't give a shit about what other people think of me, well to a point I guess, I'm not easily embarrassed, and can hold my mud in public...
Getting 'stoned' lasts about two hours. First you take a toke, and you don't really feel anything except the smoking sensation. Depending on the strain, it will come on and hit you in about 5 to 15 minutes. The high can be like a roller-coaster with one hill near the front of the ride. You go up, and you come down. If you smoke too much, it will scare you and you will think that it will never be over, if you smoke too little, it's best to wait until you are sure you can handle the peak, then you may want more to go further on the ride. I believe, given the worst situation of an inexperienced user who can get stoned early on, there may be a rare danger of not being able to come down, but at that point it turns psychological, and the affected mind takes it's own trip after the weed is long gone, LSD is 1000x more dangerous in this respect.
Smoking pot isn't like smoking tobacco in general, at first no matter how much you smoke you may not even feel it, but as you learn it a tinny puff will get you stoned, a little more will get you 'too stoned'. If you keep smoking the same strain, it has a law of diminishing returns, until no amount of that exact same strain will get you stoned again. That is when you get bored with it and either find another strain, or stop smoking all together. Usually takes two weeks to build up a tolerance. Usually happens when your stash is about running out. Also it needs to be a certain moisture, like cigars. Too moist, and the bowl won't burn, too dry, reduces its effectiveness considerably.
It is nowhere near as addictive as nicotine(which is terribly addictive), but weed is slightly addictive. If you run out of weed, and you have been doing it for a while, you will be slightly grouchy for two to three days, but that's all. After that, you don't miss it at all, unlike nicotine addiction which can last the rest of your life. Take a break from weed for a couple of weeks, and your back to a little dab'll do'ya.
So, I say legalize it with caution, and educate people about it and if it works for them, realize it is only a remedy not a solution. I'll smoke weed with any of ya if'n you come to Cali and want to give it a college try.
Honestly, I get more out of Yoga and meditation these days, but they amp me up. Now if I could only find regular sleep, I wouldn't even think about turning to weed some nights, much easier than a fifth on the body...
ps, ingestion of baked goods, like pot brownies, is a totally different experience. That can get even more scary, a body high with spins and vomit potential.
I didn't see where anyone mentioned this side effect of legalization: how many spots would we free up in our overcrowded jail systems if we turned out all the habitual violators? ~SM
there would be many side effects. think of it as dropping a rock into a still pool of water. the ripple effect, if you will.
the first wave would be a giant wave of happiness from the zillion or so recreational users. followed by a second, if smaller, wave from the med-pot crowd. tobacco producers and would be in ecstasy, cops would be relieved, (like they don't have enough to worry about, they have to sweat two guys getting ready to raid a box of fruity pebbles) retailers have a new money-maker, and even politicians will be happy, as they take credit for all the tax money rolling in.
the 3/4 of a million people A YEAR that are put in prison for nothing more than possession would now be out and creating tax revenue, instead of using it up. double ripple. the open cells and the D.o.C. can now be used to house criminals that deserve to be there, and the police will spend more time on the street, instead of in the court system, another double. or is that a quad?
then there's the economy. not only can you tax users six ways from Sunday, but the growers, sellers, and distributors, as well. pot cafes, head shops, trucking companies, ect. and they all need supplies, so there's another whole set of ripples. everything from bat sh!t to rolling papers to bar stools to truck tires. hell, even real estate would benefit, as the price of farmland goes up, because now one could make a profit from the land. and don't forget all the users that are now out of jail are MAKING tax revenue, not using it.
IMO, driving stoned is a non-issue. i realize this is where i will lose some of you, but hear me out. i could smoke enough to kill a small horse, and still drive a car. six beers, and i'm done for the day. YMMV, but i've never even laid eyes on someone who was too stoned to walk. too drunk? been there, done that. over and over. the physical effects of the two drugs are not even in the same league. i'm not saying everyone should run out, get baked, and drive around, but our nation's highways would be safer than with the same number of drunks out tooling around.
personally, i see no way to count all the ripples. i'll admit a bias, but i can't see a downside.
There is some interesting stuff about why weed ended up as a schedule 1 drug.
Look up William Randolph Hearst and Texas politics...The politicians got what they wanted...to give the Mexican immigrants bad press....and Hearst sold a hell of a lot of newspapers...together, they rode that horse into the ground.
They are trying to pass medicinal where I live (again) and it will probably pass. I'm all for it. It's gotta beat being addicted to Oxycontin and Percocet while your liver takes a crap on you. In my local newspaper (rapidcityjournal.com) I'll just read the comments on the artical. I swear most people oppose it out of some type of anger for something that's never happened. I just wonder why people would oppose it so much. I mean, ciggarettes are legal, alcohol is legal WTF?
A bowl first thing in the morning is like a cup of coffee to the experienced pot smoker.
I agree 100%. It got to the point though that "regs" did nothing for me. I had to quit smoking because it was just getting far too expensive to buy good stuff to support the habit. Sounds like me and Hex need to hang out!
It's gotta beat being addicted to Oxycontin and Percocet while your liver takes a crap on you.
I agree with this as well. Just with the breaking of my leg, I consumed 200 pills in the matter of 3 weeks! I don't really have an addictive personality but now that I don't have those pills I get nasty cravings! When I shattered my arm they wouldn't refill my script. I had a buddy bring me a nice little nugget and I was good to go. I could have pushed a car with that arm.
I quit for a year and a half. Now i smoke less often and its great. I'm a lightweight again i get rocked off a hit or two. Saving a ton of loot as well.
Alternative to heroin pills...oops I mean "painkillers" and putting the murderous cartels out of business... thumbsup. Plus it will be a boon to our snack food industry
when I was younger I used to joke about making my own pain meds. when I got older, I was thinking about growing poppies and making my own derivative, Thank God for medical marijuana, I've been in the Oregon MMP plan for a year now. I make green dragon tincture, this stuff is impressive, I mix it with a cayenne tincture(good for your heart & blood system) and put it in my morning drink, It lasts 6 to 8 hrs and doesn't take as much to get it going again. I mix it 30/70 with peppermint schnapps and put it in a spray bottle and squirt it under my tongue, once you learn the potency of a batch it's easy to modulate, it's more a body than head high, you can balance your checkbook without worry. If you want the High of smoking you only need a small hit to get really high. This is so much easier on your body than opiates, and it's more like a pain killer,muscle relaxer anti depressant all in one. Back on topic, light beer is more dangerous tan pot it's the truth, to spend money suppressing it instead of selling and taxing it is socially foolish.
Try to explain it to someone who never has felt it before, to me it's like a whole bunch of space just opens up in the center of my head. It opens up a peaceful place in there, open mind, free thoughts, and clarified observations. I don't hallucinate or see patterns, it feels like fresh space in my mind like an unfolding flower.
I always thought this image well symbolized what it feels like to be stoned:
I wish them well on collecting the taxes, all the friends of Marley people I knew spent all their money on dope first, food second, and apparently rent rarely. I do not miss college for that experience.
it's like a whole bunch of space just opens up in the center of my head. It opens up a peaceful place in there, open mind, free thoughts, and clarified observations. I don't hallucinate or see patterns, it feels like fresh space in my mind like an unfolding flower.
Doesn't the resin build up in your lungs just like it does on your pipe screen and doesn't the water in your bong get dirty? do you drink that? ? I don't deny some health benefits to some needy people but seems like anything foreign in the lungs is bad for them. Especially thick smoke and holding it in. Are there any athletes that smoke weed for health? Oh yea I forgot,,,, some olympic swimmers do!